Restoration: Spiderman The Demon War
by Impurest Cheese
Summary: After being resurrected Spiderman finds himself in a new world but is it really any different from the one he was once a part of. And with dark forces ripping the city apart in the pursuit of power will he be willing to save it or just watch it burn as he searches for his wife, now under the control of Demon Magican Dormammu before the world they both envison becomes reality.
1. Prolouge: Brave New World

Spiderman darted through the grey mist and the assorted mausoleums and grave markers, the sounds of his pursuers closing behind him. Normally the dead cared little who they worked with as long as there was the tempting essence of life on offer, at all other times they remained insular and largely ignored each other, since if one spirit consumed the life essence of a foolish explorer then they all got stronger. Reaching the stream of sufferance Spiderman turned, as a spirit he could easily have waded through but now as a being of flesh and blood he had to wait for whoever had restored him to clear the way for him. As he stared into the darkness a figure erupted from the mist, charging directly at him, the spirits stubby body covered with armour, its arms missing presumably that had been the cause of its death. Flicking his wrist Spiderman attempted to spray a restraining line of spider silk at the charging opponent only to have the web shooters jam leaving him open to the spirits' charge. At the last moment Spiderman sprung over his opponent, pushing his foe down strongly so he slammed face first into the ground.

"That should stop you getting up Human Cannonball." Spiderman announced rolling him with his foot into the mist and the four approaching shadows, the out of control villain tripping one of them up as a strong rope wrapped around his arm the other end attached to the villain Montana's neck, the same rope that had been used to hang him. With a tug Spiderman pulled Montana to his knees as a woman in green fired a pistol at him, her once face covered in a black veil trying to hide the damage done to it from her violent death. Dodging the shot Spiderman swung Montana knocking the woman into a mausoleum, her veil flying off revealing a half digested face marring the beauty evident on the intact side.

"Viper you really must see a cosmetic surgeon." Spiderman announced, "I hear they can work wonders with skin transplants these days."

"All I need is your life so I can re-enter Midgard and get my revenge on my daughter for betraying me." Viper hissed slithering out from under Montana as the forth figure emerged his stomach ruptured displaying necrotic flesh filled with maggots and mould, his hand morphing into a canon. "This one's life is mine." Bushwhacker announced as he attempted to fire at Spiderman, his weapon failing as the ammunition dropped out of his gut and onto the floor.

"You really must publish the diet your on." Spiderman told Bushwhacker, "It really has worked wonders on you." He added as Montana got to his feet and swung the rope above his head, the sound whooshing above the sound of the stream and the rattling breath of all three spirits. Suddenly the water behind Spiderman exploded upwards and formed a massive hand, the fingers wriggling before slamming down and turning to stone, a macabre bridge across the lethal water. Spiderman gave the spirits a mocking salute before springing over the hand, the rocky flesh collapsing into water as he passed as the villains attempted to follow, the current washing them away as their prey cleared the river. Despite the apparent victory Spiderman knew that he had won nothing since they would easily return and that there were others waiting in the gloom for him.

"Next you have to cross the vale of sleepers." A female voice announced, it was the same voice who had directed him away from Hela's tower, who had told him about the Stream of Sufferance and how to cross it. He was unsure if the voice was simply his Spider Sense evolving or somebody among the living guiding him back to a land where flesh eating ghouls wouldn't be continuously hunting him. With a sigh he set off across the vale, it was still a long way and the dead would not be overly keen to let him pass. Five steps in and the first gunshot rang out, the bullet missing him a few inches prompting him to run as more shots were heard, the bullets splashing him with dirt and stone chips as they struck the ground close to where he ran, the shooter, a tall gaunt figure, his left eye gouged out of his head leapt from roof-top to roof-top, firing shots from his sniper rifle as he ran. Turning left at a crossroads Spiderman ducked into a covered road the walls and roof decorated with gravestones.

"Better luck next time Gauntlet." He wheezed as he stalked down the path occasionally stopping to make sure he wasn't being followed. Their was now a low level of fog curling round his legs, an oddity for the Vale of Sleepers but defiantly probable considering the whole realm was shrouded with mist save for the few towers that erupted from the grave dirt. As he continued down the tunnel the fog increased and it became so thick that visibility dropped to around five foot until a bright light erupted from the darkness as the tunnel emerged on the other side of the Vale of Sleepers. Stepping out Spiderman saw a few candles lighting the ridge he had to climb, the foot of which was only two hundred meters away, it was an easy run and climb as long as no spirits attempted to attack him as he made his way to the hill of remembrance.

"No such luck." Spiderman stated as six shadowy figures busted out of one of the larger mausoleums and headed this way. The first to reach him had been a friend on life as she lunged at him with a pair of battle staves, her body well preserved save the large hole in her back that glowed an eerie pink. "Bobbi." Spiderman gasped, "Bobbi it's me Spiderman, we were friends when we were alive."

"There are no friends on this road." Mockingbird screeched as Spiderman blocked her first few swipes before grabbing one of the staves and swinging it through the former Avenger's head, the blow causing her to dissipate into an amorphous cloud of grey fog. "What have I done?" Spiderman asked as he watched Mockingbird 'die'. He knew she would return even seen Montana, Viper and Bushwhacker go through the same process back at the stream but this was different. He paused for a second too long as three pairs of hands wrapped round him pushing him to the floor. Struggling Spiderman lashed out kicking the first, a Native American Man dressed in motorbike leathers away, before springing other the second before landing on his back, a wicker shield stapled to the back of his burnt skin, an eerie light shining through the bullet wound in his head.

"Zulu, Eagle." A voice commanded, "Step away," the two spirits backed off as did a woman in power armour to reveal an old man in cardigan and slacks smiling kindly at him. "You sure have grown." He announced.

"Uncle Ben?" Spiderman said in a surprised voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you escape this dreadful place." Uncle Ben announced as he ran his hand along his left arm, "Come quickly these spirits won't obey me for long." He added the sound of desperation in his voice as Spiderman took a step forward before stopping. All the other thralls had the indicator of how they had died yet there was no sign of the bullet wound that Uncle Ben had received all those years ago. "Come on Son we have to move now."

"I would if you were the real Uncle Ben, but you're an impostor." Spiderman snapped. Uncle Ben stopped and smiled is usual kind smile before his face became more feminine and his skin blue before reaching for the pistol in the small of her back. "I should have guessed it was you Mystique." Spiderman announced as Uncle Ben's Left Arm vanished revealing a cauterized stump. With a hiss of rage the spirits lunged forward but their prey was ready with a leap he cleared all of them and ran for the ridge. "Glow-worm cut him off." Zulu ordered as the spirits perused him screeching and snarling in the gloom whilst up above Glow-worm incinerated the area around Spiderman, the grave stones and mausoleums erupting in an explosion of blue fire. Reaching the ridge Spiderman climbed, his foes unwilling to follow as more spirits clambered onto the still intact structures and fired a mixture of crossbow bolts, sniper shots and arrows until their prey cleared the top and slid down the other side.

"Made it." Spiderman announced as he landed in a glen, the centre glowing orange with arcane symbols dancing across the surface. Suddenly the disc in the middle glowed blue and something collapsed into the realm dressed in red and yellow, a jagged hole bored into her head. "Moonstone." Spiderman snarled, "Looks like somebody finally did you in like they should have a long time ago."

"Nifleheim crap." Karla swore, "I so didn't want to come back here again."

"Well guess what?" Spiderman announced as the seal faded back to orange, "I'm leaving."

"Wait please take me with you." Karla pleaded grabbing his leg. "Show mercy." She begged.

"Get off." Spiderman announced shaking her off his leg as he walked onto the seal, "You deserve to be here." He added as Karla crawled onto the seal after him.

"Please help me." She cried, "I never meant for it to happen." She moaned as she reattached herself to his leg.

"Never." Spiderman announced as he picked her up and threw her off the disc as orange light radiated out and his form began to vanish.

"Please don't leave me." Karla screamed, her face streaked with tears as she made one last attempt to escape. With her last desperate leap she latched on, her ntangible hand reaching into his body before falling back down dragging a young man with her.

"No." Spiderman yelled as he recognized the man plummeting down with Moonstone. "You can't take him, he's me." He yelled before something pulled his head upwards. Silhouetted against a green sky was Mary Jane standing watching him come closer, her hand outstretched to pull him up. Spiderman reached for the hand only to see her face change, for it to start burning a hellish orange, her features replaced with those of Dormmamu's. "MJ no." he whispered as he let go and fell downwards before he hit the dirt with a thump.

Opening his eyes Spiderman looked up and saw the evening sky above him, skyscrapers looming into the heavens, the smells and sounds of New York cocooning him like a comforting blanket. _"Must have blacked out web swinging again."_ He thought, _"At least I'm still Peter Parker, at least I escaped from Nifleheim."_ As he lay their something tugged his foot and he looked along his body to see the Vulture tugging at him, the vile scavenger obviously looking to make him his next meal. With a kick Spiderman removed him and got to his feet the hungry cannibal still obviously not convinced that he was a meal to be passed up, especially since it had fallen so close to his lair.

"Come on Vulture do you really want to break those arms again?" Spiderman asked, "Can you really afford the costs a Mob Doctor charges?"

"You were dead," The Vulture hissed, "that makes you mine." He added lunging at Spiderman who ducked under his razor tipped swipe before grabbing his arm and twisting it into the typical 'hand behind your back' position, the bones splintering as he did so. Enraged the Vulture slashed with his free hand only to have it jerked upwards, the bones in that arm breaking too.

"Looks like you're off to the hospital." Spiderman joked as he glued Vulture to the wall with a net of spider silk, "Just stay out of the morgue the orderly's have a hard enough time trying to keep the Hand from stealing corpses they don't need you helping as well." Spiderman advised the trapped criminal as he attempted to cut himself free.

"This isn't over Parker." The Vulture snarled, "When I get out and I will get out I'm going after your aunt, I'm going to feed on her right before your eyes and their will be nothing that you can do to stop me."

"To be honest I don't think you can take her either." Spiderman replied as he spun back towards his Aunt's house, _"I will never get used to everyone knowing who I am. After I died Mesphisto's spell ended and everyone got their memories back. Which is why Mary Jane remembered that we were married and went to Satana and the Rohas Guys and got me resurrected."_

As he moved from the city into the suburbs, Peter imagined what Aunt May must have thought when she regained her memories, about how she was all alone now with a whole army of super villains and worse the government all long time foes of her nephew. The fact she had survived showed the strength the old woman still had, the same strength that Uncle Ben had before he had been killed, Mystique's little performance had brought that tragic evening to the forefront of Peter's mind, not that it wasn't always there, the weight of his bad decision driving every action he had done after that.

Swinging onto the roof of Aunt May's house Peter looked down the street and listened, searching for signs of any hidden super villain or even common crook looking to settle a score. The only thing out of place that he noticed was a pair of blacked out Jeep Cherokee's squatting menacingly over the road from the house he was on. A myriad of potential suspects stampeded through Peter's mind; what if it was the Maggia or AIM or even some random hit squad hired from the deepest depths of South America acting on the orders of one of his many foes. Panic quickly subsided, he knew what he had to do, he had nothing to hide anymore, the fact that his enemies were here was proof of that. Spinning a line off of the roof he swung through the kitchen window landing deftly on the counter, the scent of a chicken slowly cooking in the rumbling oven into the otherwise silent house. Jumping to the ceiling he crawled into the main living room to see his Aunt May sitting on the sofa with Mary Jane's mother and a third woman all drinking coffee while armed guards stood at the doorway into the hall armed with assault rifles, the patches on their armour displaying the SHIELD insignia.

"There you are Peter." Aunt May croaked, "We were a little worried when we heard the window break weren't we Anna?"

"What with your friend has been telling us about the dangers you have put us in we thought it might be one of those freaks that you're responsible for." Anna Watson barked, "What was you're name" she asked the third woman.

"Melissa." Spiderman announced, "She's a spy and not welcome in this house."

"Peter don't be rude, Miss Gold came round specially to see me and ask how I'm doing." Aunt May reprimanded, "Now clean up that glass before somebody cut's themselves on it." She ordered.

"Don't worry I'll have somebody do it." Melissa announced, "Abe," she said into an arm mounted radio attached to her blue jumpsuit, "We have a false alert, just Spiderman coming home, we do have some broken glass that needs clearing up though, send a team and tell them to sterilize the pieces."

"Sterilize?" Aunt May asked, "Are we in danger of a chemical attack?"

"None that SHIELD knows of." Melissa announced, "We just don't Spiderman's DNA falling into wrong hands. Now that you're here Mr. Parker I can begin outlining my offer."

"I told you this morning that I wasn't going to join your Avengers." Spiderman answered. "I also told you to leave me and my family alone."

"Funnily enough this agreement doesn't directly involve you, I just wanted you hear to prove that I am not pressuring your aunt into doing something she may regret later on or even worse put her in danger." Melissa explained.

"_Funny,"_ Spiderman mused, _"with all the jack booted goons, blacked out cars and your power armour wearing fiancé who I used to cross swords with regularly it looks more like an abduction."_ He breathed deeply before saying. "What are you proposing?"

"Round the clock protection for your aunt before we can move her into the witness protection programme. I'm also suggesting that Ms. Watson enter the programme as well especially since her daughter just became one of the biggest crime lords on the Eastern Seaboard." Melissa announced. "Failing that we would like to set up a garrison for emergency response just in case they are attacked as well as fortifying the house."

"You never mentioned fortifying the house?" Aunt May gasped, "I don't have the money for that kind of renovation, I only volunteer I don't actually work anymore."

"Don't worry Ms. Parker SHIELD will provided the materials as well as install them. We plan on replacing the windows with bullet proof glass, fit a new alarm system that will trigger when surveillance detects any super-villains who enter hundred meter perimeter around the houses as well as a panic room designed to resist moat break ins for them to hide in if they are being targeted."

"I'm here I'll protect them if they are being targeted." Peter told her.

"Really because you Rouge's Gallery is quite extensive." Melissa announced. "Electro, Hydro Man, Scorpion, The Wrecking Crew, Screwball, Iguana. The list just goes on and on.

"And I can deal with them when they come." Peter announced.

"But what if they all come at once?" Melissa asked, "It's already started the Vulture already made a death threat against your aunt."

"You knew about that." Peter growled, he was beginning to get angry although the voice in the back of his head kept saying, _"She's right what if they do all attack, or if we're being distracted by one and the others take Aunt May and Ms. Watson, maybe we should except their help."_

"Sorry but I'm not going to accept your help." He eventually told Melissa bravely, "Not now, not ever." He added. "I know what your plan is, you're pretending to be my friend, help me out with some problems like Sawfish this morning or by protecting my aunt and in return you want a poster boy for your Avengers so people don't look at you and see the bad company you keep."

"But it's not your choice it's ours." Ms. Watson announced, "May it will be safer to go with these people then let Peter do all the heavy lifting, these people are trained for it."

"I'm sorry but I am going to go with Peter on this." Aunt May sighed, "But thank you for your offer." She told Melissa.

"At least take these." Melissa asked handing Peter a business card as well as two tiny discs. "They are remote alarms, your Aunt has one and you take the other. If she's in danger she rubs the sensor and it will alert you that's she's in trouble, it will also connects with the SHIELD security grid, if you can't respond we'll send a team to check it out and offer any assistance."

"What's in it for you?" Peter asked, _"Maybe she genuinely cares, how much do we know about her anyway?" _he thought as soon as the words left his lips.

"I presume you know of the assassin Lady Lotus?" Melissa asked, "A couple of years ago when Osborne was head of the Thunderbolts my mother was killed by Lotus. I tracked her down but never caught her although I got close and she leapt slip somebody had paid her to take out my mother. I never found out who but I had my suspicions. All this time I wondered how it would be different if I had been closer to her, if I could have checked to see if she was safe. Don't make my mistake Mr. Parker." She warned as she signalled to the agents to leave. "Thank you for the coffee." She told Aunt May as she walked out through the held open door and into the street.

"Well you could have been more polite." Ms. Watson announced, "She was just trying to protect us." She added standing up, "May as always it's nice seeing you, Peter as always it's not." She added before following Melissa out the door. Aunt May watched her leave before sighing, "She's taken the loss of Mary Jane very hard Peter, she doesn't mean it."

"I know Aunt May." Peter replied taking off his mask, _"I just wish SHIELD would leave me some time to think. Between them, the villains who I have to face, worrying about Aunt May and Mayor Jameson's Spider Smear Campaign I haven't had any time to think about how I'm going to rescue Mary Jane."_

"I'm going to head upstairs to get some rest." Aunt May told him as he thought, "Dinner is in the oven if you want any."

"Goodnight Aunt May." Peter replied as he rolled the two micro sensors in the palm of his hand. "I suppose it would be nice to know if your safe." He told himself as he put one disc on the table and the other below his right hand web shooter. "Aunt May I'm going out." He yelled up the stairs.

"That's nice Peter be careful." Aunt May replied as Peter walked into the kitchen and turned off the oven. The shards of glass were already cleaned up, evidence of how quick SHIELD worked, he doubted that they had been sterilized of though, the mutant spider DNA was too much of an asset to pass up. Spinning a line out of the house to the next building he left and headed towards the cool yellow glow of the New York skyline, the buildings already lit up with a myriad of lights. Swinging down the road he passed the two blacked out SHIELD vehicles heading in the same direction but paid them no further attention as he sped past.

Inside the second Jeep Melissa sat on the back seat next to Fixer, the later having waited outside surveying the house for any signs of trouble as well as taking measurements for any fortifications the Parker family decided they needed.

"Director the tracking signal is working fine, Spiderman is heading into the city, he fell for your sob story just like we figured he would." Fixer told Melissa

"The story is true, that's how I knew it would work." Melissa replied staring at the tablet showing a tiny red spider icon moving across a map of New York City. "Do we have audio?" she asked.

"No would have made the discs too bulky." Fixer announced, "Plus you made me rush them through development in only a few hours."

"It will have to do." Melissa sighed picking up a zip lock evidence bag filled with bloody shards of glass. "Do me a favour?" she asked, "Dispose of these." Fixer took the bag and placed a hand over the shards before blasting it with a radiation pulse, the blood vaporizing after only a few seconds. "Done." He lied as his onboard computers catalogued the DNA and stored it away.

"Good." Melissa answered, "I have a feeling we will have a need for Spiderman very soon." she added.

* * *

Next Issue Spiderman#02

Spiderman finds himself going face to face with a new enemy utilizing familiar technology. Unfortunately for Spiderman he's about to find out that there are worse people to say no to then SHIELD.


	2. Vengance and the Avenged

Peter strolled across the campus of Empire State University quite aware of the large number of students and faculty pointing and whispering as he passed. For some reason he had decided to re-enrol on the Post Graduate course he had been taken before he had been forced on the run by Osborne and then killed at Asgard by Venom, the shit eating grin on his long time enemies face still burned onto his psyche. In all fairness he had believed that with the first term already started that the Dean would not accept his late application. That thought changed immediately after he set foot on campus, the gates decorated with a massive billboard displaying a picture of Spiderman beating Songbird round the face with the text bellow reading Empire State University - Home to Songbird and Spiderman. That brought a smile to Peter's face; the University had used an old photo, one of the few of him and Melissa together and in this particular encounter the Thunderbolt had come off worse. The actual meeting with the Dean was short; he made his point in a few words.

"Yes Mr. Parker we would welcome you back to our establishment, your application will be processed as soon as possible. When it's complete we will e-mail your schedules and class list to you." the Dean told him before Peter had ever said anything. In the back of his mind Peter thought, _"He can't really say no, the amount of publicity Empire U would get from me being on campus would be massive. All I am to him is a red and blue cash cow."_

"Thank you for being so efficient Dean Ramirez." Peter replied as the Dean's PA opened the door, she smiled at him and Peter saw a mixture of fear and devotion, a look he was getting a lot regally, even from some of the villains he faced although mostly they yelled one of two things, "Back off Spider Freak or I ventilate the hostage." followed by, "Please don't eat me I learnt my lesson." Peter stepped out of the office and through one of the many trendy student café's, the TV reporting how Oz Corp had been handed over to a steward while the government decided what to do with Norman Osborne's former empire. "I hope Harry is okay." Peter told himself, "He probably doesn't need any help for me at the moment, I'm sure he wouldn't see me as a friend." he added sorrowfully, _"You should go anyway."_ his inner voice whispered,_ "It's what a real friend would do."_ Peter shook his head ignoring his thoughts, he had a lot to do today and so far he was on schedule, mostly due to the quick service he was now getting as well as no signs of any super villain attacks. _"Probably shouldn't count my chickens until they hatch." _he mused, _"Sod's law will say something massive will go down and take up the rest of my day."_

He had only taken three steps past the café when the screaming started, again it was something he had got used too, mostly they were running from him but occasionally he had some nut job fan that did the opposite, begging for an autograph, an interview sometimes even a ride round the city. Peter largely ignored them, there was no benefit to indulging their fantasies, it would just make more flock to him for such favours and the last thing he needed was a crowd following him from super villain attack to super villain attack. As the first screamers arrived Peter yelled, "Come on I'm not even wearing the costume."

"Uh dude." the dull looking barista stated, his pierced face glinting off the noon day sun, "It's not you there running from." he added jabbing his finger towards the science block, the windows smoking as dirty clouds of yellow smoke erupted from the top two floors. The building suddenly creaked and collapsed into a pile of smoking mortar as a figure flew off the collapsing structure before landing on the adjacent dormitory. "You can change in the bathroom." the barista announced.

"Ur Thanks." Peter replied, "I knew I should have kept my big mouth shut." he told himself.

"Can I have your autograph." the Barista yelled, "I'm a big fan." he added as the door slammed shut. Peter shuddered, as the words left the civilians lips, figuring it might be a little difficult to leave through the front he quickly stripped off his clothes revealing his red and blue costume underneath and attached the web-shooters to his arms before finally pulling the mask over his face, _"A little redundant really"_ he thought, _"everyone in the city knows Peter Parker and Spiderman are the same person."_ Climbing out the window Spiderman quickly stuck his backpack to the wall of the café and swung off towards the dormitories quickly covering the campus in seconds to land behind the villain. Turning the woman dressed in a lab coat slung over red ballistic armor, her eyes covered in a pair of goggles glared at him, her cropped blonde hair clashing with the slightly green tint of her skin. Looking him up and down she pumped the massive shotgun she was holding and fired, the weapon shooting out a massive glob of acid that sailed past him and struck the roof, the chemical chewing through the concrete.

"Okay that's enough play time." Spiderman told the woman, "Put away the junior chemistry set and we'll hang out, talk about your acid erosion problems maybe get some doughnuts before I hand you over to the authorities."

"Never you wall crawling creep," the woman hissed firing a second shot causing Spiderman to dodge the projectile causing it slam into an air conditioning unit that rapidly melted into a puddle of hissing smoke.

"So you don't like that idea, well how about this, you put down the shotgun, which you obviously ripped off the Trapster and we talk about what your doing." Spiderman suggested, "By the way the Trapster does know that you touching his stuff right?" he asked, "Because Paste Pot Patricia he's not going to be happy if you stole from him."

"My name is PH3, and like acid I'm going to burn you." PH3 hissed firing a pair of darts from up her sleeve. Spiderman twisted shooting the darts with his webs before firing a line at the shotgun. "You know that's some magic trick you have there." he announced before pulling on the line. "Yoink its mine now." he added cradling the shotgun before removing the ammo container and throwing it into a dustbin outside the building he was on. "Hope I don't get done for littering." he asked, "Now let's talk about this." he added gesturing to the former science building.

"Eat rubble freak." PH3 yelled removing a pair of test tubes from her belt and dropping them onto the building before throwing a massive disc into the air and leaping on as she headed away from the dorm block. Spiderman looked at where the tubes had landed and saw the same ominous yellow smoke billowing from the ends. Leaping off the edge he saw that most of the students had wisely decided to stay away as he landed on a lamp post. "I am so going to be blamed for this." he sighed.

"Help my kitten is still inside." a woman in a peasant blouse and long skirt yelled from the crowd. "Are you even allowed pets on campus?" Spiderman asked as he swung into the building, "I suppose what with the Lizard, Rhino, Vulture, Scorpion and well me making this a regular stop off campus security are not so worried about kittens." he added as he landed in the building, chunks of masonry collapsing around him as the thick yellow smoke billowed down the hall. Listening he heard the sound of hissing from two doors down and quickly broke through the first and second wall to find a tiny calico kitten angrily batting at the uncanny smog billowing under the door. Scruffing the cat, Spiderman swung out of the dorm building just in time, the structure collapsing moments later as he landed next to the woman and handed her the cat.

"You rescued her." she cooed as she rubbed the kitten's head, "Bad Spider." she teased tapping the now purring animals head.

"You called your cat Spider?" Spiderman asked, "Okay that's a little creepy." he announced as his spider-sense pinged, "Hold that thought." he said turning spraying a wide stream of webbing, the silk line intercepting a pair of black mini rockets before they detonated showering the area with acid. Looking up Spiderman saw PH3 standing on the anti-gravity disc, her lab coat discarded revealing her sickly green skin. "What is your deal?" Spiderman yelled up, "Most super-villains have a reason but your just attacking randomly, lashing out at innocent civilians."

"They know what they did." PH3 screeched, "I had a life before the accident. Would they believe me when I said I was the victim. Of course not, that's why they must all die just like my dreams."

"That doesn't really narrow it down too much." Spiderman replied spinning a line up to the disc. "But I'm really past caring at the moment, I don't know what was done to you but destroying the University isn't the answer." he added as he zipped up towards her. Putting a hand on the disc he saw PH3 glowering at him before her suit let loose a flash, the pulse of light blinding him as he let. Desperately reaching out with his other senses he found a ledge and guided his fall just grabbing on in time. Shaking his head Spiderman looked up and saw PH3 land her disc on a third building, this time the university's new gymnasium, the sign outside stating that the Empire State Sky Larks would by playing the Alabama Crimson Tide Woman's Volleyball team today and judging from the parked cars outside, the venue was packed. With spots still in-front of his eyes Spiderman webbed over to the gym as PH3 removed a second pair of test tubes before dropping them. With a quick shot Spiderman spun a web and caught the tubes before swinging them up into the air towards the water front.

"How dare you get between me and my revenge." PH3 hissed.

"Oh please revenge is over rated." Spiderman announced as PH3 pulled out a pair of pistols and fired, the projectiles going wide and impacting with the gym's roof. Spiderman leapt at PH3 and pushed her to the ground as she tried to turn, possibly to flee. "Okay your done." he told her as he spun a web to bind her arms behind her back.

"Not yet." PH3 replied as the corners of the gym hit by the projectiles lifted up tilting the building at 45 degree angle causing both super powered beings to slip downwards. PH3 scratched the acid capsule on her wrist launchers watching the spider silk slip away as she slid down the roof landing on the anti-grav disc and darting upwards above Spiderman as he clung to the roof desperately crawling upwards towards the anti-gravity generators implanted on the roof. Reaching the first Spiderman twisted the centre, he defiantly recognized the tech as being the same discs that the Wizard used, and watched as one side of the gym begun to halt moving upwards, waiting for the signal from the second to commence the landing process. With a flick of his wrist Spiderman travelled to the second disc only to see PH3 get their first and let loose another light pulse causing him to overshoot and knock her off the disc. Blindly fumbling across the roof Spiderman found the second switch and twisted the gym gently landing as his vision returned as PH3 got to her feet and walked over to one of the emergency exits and blasted the door open using a third anti-gravity generator. Dropping down Spiderman followed her inside, the rows of spectators looking down at this irregular pitch invasion as the volleyball players cowered away from PH3 and the large canister she was holding.

"Can I ask you a question?" Spiderman told the super-villainess, "You have the Trapster's toys, Light Master's Photon Suit and the Wizard's Anti Gravity Technology. Now are you simply a super villain tech collector or were you given these weapons for a reason."

"The Baron enjoyed my pitch, my idea for revenge so he gave me the equipment I needed for a reduced price." PH3 told him as she dropped the canister on the court, "Like this Seismic Charge, it's set to blow in twenty seconds and when it does everything inside this building will be obliterated." she cackled as she ran past him before dropping a trio of pellets that exploded into a thick glue covering the door. Spiderman looked at the canister, a digital display counting down in big blue numbers, he wouldn't be able to stop the blast but he could weaken it. Picking up the bomb he threw it at the glued exit and covered his head as a loud bang sounded and the adjoining wall collapsed, leaving the bare skeleton of the building still standing and unharmed. Spinning out of the gym Spiderman heard cheering, _"Haven't heard that for a while."_ he thought, _"Now to capture PH3 and find out which Baron she got the equipment from."_ Up ahead PH3 darted away from the ground on her retrieved anti-gravity disc and headed towards the administration office. _"That's where the Dean is processing my application."_ Spiderman mused, _"If he dies it won't look good for us getting back into school. Selfish as it is I need some sense of normality in my life especially now that Mary Jane is gone"_

"Okay far enough." Spiderman yelled as he slammed into PH3 feet first knocking her across the roof top.

"It is, you've got in my way twice, you won't do it a third time." PH3 said firing a pair of darts at Spiderman that bounced off his shins and fell to the floor. "Really that's weak." her target told her, "Even Paste Pot Pete would have done a better job." PH3 smirked as he took a step forward before hammering her left gauntlet sending the detonation signal and causing the darts to explode into a thick shower of resin binding Spiderman in place. "It was said you were smart." PH3 announced, "Can't say I saw what all the hype was about today. Then again such things always disappoint. You wanted to know why I'm here, well I used to be a student here, I was completing a doctorate when I died, when Tara Selsin died and I took my true name PH3."

"Shocker." Spiderman stated as he tried to break the entombing, "Figures that you were part of a lab accident it would explain the green skin."

"Shut up you don't know what happened to me." PH3 screeched, "The day before I graduated I was called in by the Dean. Apparently one of those pretty cheerleaders had an accident when she was making out in my lab but instead of admitting that she said I had attacked her, burnt her face with acid. The Dean expelled me from the campus and as I was leaving her friends jumped me and locked me in a fume cupboard and turned the gas on. Unfortunately for them I survived and as we all know payback is a bitch."

"Why didn't you explain what happened to you?" Spiderman asked.

"No more questions." PH3 told him, "If I can't kill them while you were alive then you'll have to die." she announced picking up her anti-gravity disc, "You should have stayed away."

"Story of my life." Spiderman sighed, _"I can't believe we are going to be taken out by a neophyte villain."_ he thought, _"I'm sorry I failed you Mary Jane, just like I've failed everyone I ever cared for."_ PH3 threw the disc straight at his neck, the razor sharp disc flying towards him before shattering as a blast of energy struck it from above, shards of metal bouncing off the resin cocoon as PH3 looked up in horror to see Spiderman' rescuer before being struck by a Repulsor beam and collapsing onto the roof.

"Peter you seriously need to look after yourself better." Iron Man announced as he landed, "Here let me get that for you." he added placing one of his Repulsors against the resin and sending a harmonic pulse through the adhesive shattering it and freeing the web-slingers arms and feet.

"Thanks I thought that I was going to really loose my head for a moment." Spiderman announced, "Although people are going to start talking, I mean rescued by Songbird on Tuesday, you today. People are going to ask who's rescuing Spiderman tomorrow, the Hulk, Deadpool possibly even the Black Panther, it's bad for my rep."

"Still have a sense of humour then." Iron Man stated, "When I heard that you were alive again I decided to come and see you."

"Ah that's sweet." Spiderman said, "So I'm back and the world looked like hell, still can't decide if it's any better now that someone other then Osborne is in charge."

"It's not." Ironman told him, "We just swapped one super villain running the country's defence network for another."

"That's a bit hash." Spiderman replied, "Okay I'm not a fan of Melissa but from what I heard she fought against Osborne even died a couple of times for her cause although I never saw her arrive in the place I was."

"I'll give you that but she's running ops with several people of questionable morals. She's recruited the Taskmaster, Constrictor, Blizzard, Fixer, Diamondback as well as one of your rouges the Shocker to help her run the country." Ironman explained, "Tell me that doesn't worry you even a little bit."

"It worries me a lot, that's why I didn't join her Avengers when she helped me take out Sawfish." Spiderman announced, "And I know what you want from me and I'm going to refuse. I remember the last time you and I were on an Avenger's team together."

"It wasn't that bad." Tony stated.

"Oh no I seem to remember you trying to kill me and then sending the Jack O Lantern and Jester after me as I lay bleeding in the sewers." Spiderman stated, "I was worried I was going to catch some horrible disease for weeks after that."*

"Would it help if I apologized for that?" Iron Man asked.

"Not really, I'm not in the team spirit mood." Spiderman replied. "Be it yours or SHIELD's, I'm happy to work the streets keep people safe just like I did back when everything was more simple." he added sticking PH3 to the roof. "No hard feelings?" he asked holding out his hand in a gesture of friendship.

"No hard feelings." Tony replied taking the hand and shaking it. As he did Peter felt something bite him on the back of the neck and turned to see what was behind him but saw nobody. Tony cocked his head and asked, "Something the matter Peter?"

"Just a mosquito bite I guess." Peter replied, "I guess you don't have to worry about that in your armor."

"Not unless the mosquito is armed with a hydraulic tipped beak and armor shutting down saliva." Tony answered, "It was nice catching up with you but I am on a schedule and need to go."

"Me too." Spiderman stated swinging off the roof-top heading back towards the collapsed dormitory. Iron Man clenched his fists before scanning the area. "Did you place the holographic shroud Hank?" he asked.

"Yes Tony but something about this seems wrong." a voice replied.

"Then leave but you know as we do that the world now operates in absolutes, your either on my side or her's and I will not see him be led by her into a nightmare scenario where the public looses faith in him." Tony admitted, "I failed him once."

"Don't you believe that he can make his own choices?" Hank asked

"That's what I'm afraid of." Tony stated, "He's going to face the same challenge he was presented with and we all know how that worked out."

Spiderman landed back outside the dorm building, the crowds of students were beginning to disperse which made finding the woman with the kitten very easy. Walking over he tapped her on the shoulder and asked, "So about your kitten?" She turned and her jaw dropped before screaming and backing away from the wall crawler.

"Stay away you monster." she screamed as others in the crowd noticed that he had arrived. All of them had the same reaction and all of them were running as if their lives depended on it.

"Oh come on I just saved you." Spiderman stated before catching sight of the barista he had talked to earlier cowering behind a booth, "So about that autograph you wanted, who do I make it out too?" he asked.

"V…V…Venom." the man yelled pointing at Spiderman, the hero turning and scanning the are while thinking, _"Great that's all I need creeping around behind me, the only guy my spider sense can't detect."_ As he kept on searching he saw more and more people running, "Venom where?" he asked.

"Don't worry we will deal with the monster." Tony's voice boomed as he landed outside the dorm building filled with a raven shaped blot of darkness that coalesced into four figures.

"Guy's where is Venom I can't see him." Spiderman asked as Tony charged his Repulsors. "Seriously Mac this isn't funny." he stated as Tony fired, the beams of energy striking him in the chest and knocking him into a lamp post. "What the?" he asked as he put his hand in-front of his face to protect himself from a follow up blast. He stared at his costume, no longer red and blue but Symbiote black realizing why Iron Man had fired at him. Something wasn't right, he couldn't feel the Symbiote's corrosive influence but he still looked as if he was wearing the black suit.

"Your making this too easy." Ironman said, his voice taking on a sinister element, "I'm going to make it so that you don't even get to the raft, not you or the man inside." he added as the Uni-Beam projector on his chest begun to charge up.

* * *

Next Issue - Spiderman - #03

Suddenly finding himself a fugitive Spiderman is pursued by Tony Stark and his team of Avengers. And as if his problems couldn't get any worse SHIELD unleashed a deadly assassin on his trail, one who's been ordered to shoot to kill.

*As seen in Civil War #5


	3. Blood Hunt

"Ma'am we have confirmation of the disturbance down at the university campus." A SHIELD agent told Melissa as she stood in the middle of the Avengers Tower control room, "It's Venom, looks like Gangran has resurfaced and he brought a friend with him."

"Impossible we have Mac Gangran in custody, he's rotting in the Raft and driving everyone crazy in there with his winging." Melissa replied, "Looks like we have a new driver in the Symbiote suit."

"And it also looks like I owe you ten dollars." Abe announced, "You said he would be back and you were right."

"Keep your money, if I have my way that creature will be properly destroyed so it can't harm anyone again." Melissa stated, "Retrieval suit up in Hazmat Gear and head for the hanger bay, as soon as Venom is down contain the Symbiote and bring it here for euthanasia. As for you," she said turning to face the hooded individual standing at the back of the control room, "Take the Symbiote out, we can't allow Stark and his Avengers to take credit for this, don't engage them but if you feel that your in danger from them don't hesitate to defend yourself." She ordered.

"We have this for you." Abe said handing the figure a bulky sniper rifle, "It fires hard sound pulses specially designed to take down Symbiotes although it should be effective against other targets. It also fires incendiary grenades if the sonics fails and we're also kitting you out with the new neural shutdown clamps, just aim for the spine and it should do the rest."

" Now this is of the up most importance." Melissa told the figure, "You're representing SHIELD now, I don't want any slip ups we need to prove to the people that we are here to protect them from menaces like Venom. Do you understand that?"

"Yes Ma'am." The figure replied.

"There is a One Man Ariel Platform in the hanger for your use, the retrieval team will be a minute out should you need help." Melissa explained, "Other then that all I'm going to say is Happy Hunting."

"It will be Director." The man announced throwing off his hood, "Or my name isn't Kraven the Hunter."

Spiderman scuttled away from Tony Stark, the Uni Beam barley missing him as Iron Man fired the devastating beam, the energy release boring a hole in the courtyard as discharge sparked up the armoured figure. "Tony it's me Peter." Spiderman tried to explain as a massive green fist slammed into his cheek and throwing him a good fifty feet down the path.

"Like we haven't heard that lie before Venom." She Hulk snarled, "You've been ripping off Parker for months, spoiling his name. Everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie." She added as she wrenched up a lamp post and threw it at her target, the only thing saving Spiderman was a sudden ping of Spider Sense and a quick web-zip line to the café where his backpack and clothes were stashed. Maybe if he changed out of his suit they would recognize him, snatching the pack Peter saw something hurtling towards him before barrelling through the café, the resulting shockwave causing the stand to collapse on-top of him, trapping him under half a ton of rubble. As he struggled Spiderman thought, _"Why would Iron Man, She Hulk, that woman who hung around with Doctor Druid as well as two others think that I am Venom and more importantly when did Tony develop a killer attitude." _as he struggled out of the wreckage, "I'm going to be blamed for this as well." He moaned as an arrow gleaming in the afternoon sun slammed into his left arm, pining him to the collapsed pile of plywood and concrete behind him.

Truly a poor hunt." The archer announced, his body cloaked in black with white stars gleaming across the surface. "You promised a worthy chase Stark." He told Iron Man as he landed next to him.

"Don't let this fool you Orion he's still dangerous." Tony stated, "Now kill him and do it quick, he deserves that much at the very most." Orion nodded before drawing his bow and stringing a star tipped arrow, silently pulling back the string ready for the execution shot. As he released Spiderman fired with his right web shooter, a stream of webbing gluing the bow to its wielder and keeping the bow-string taunt and unable to fire. With a quick flip Spiderman freed himself, fabric and skin ripping as the arrow snapped before swinging off into the city leaving the Avengers standing like statues at his amazing escape. "I see what you mean." Orion announced, "He is truly worthy prey for the mightiest of hunters."

"He won't get far." Tony replied, "Hurricane follow him and keep us informed, once you have him cornered and crippled tell us and Sepulchre will bring us your position for the final strike."

"No problem boss." Hurricane announced as his speed armour lit up and he took off after the fleeing Spiderman."

"Truly a poor display of honour," Orion told Tony, "A true hunter would honour the chase not send his hound in to savage the prey before delivering the final blow."

"I'm not a hunter." Tony announced, "Now lets get on Venom's trail before SHIELD arrives, I'm not overly enthused to argue with Melissa and her band of criminals masquerading as SHIELD agents." He stated as he took to the air, the others following on foot towards the city centre. A minute later a Thunder Hawk roared overhead with a smaller OMAP darting around it, the bat like glider skimming over the remains of the café as it's rider dropped to the ground landing animal like before crawling over to the remains of a broken arrow and a flap of fabric. The man sniffed the air before letting loose a deep growl, "So we meet again, last time you outran me my prey, but now I will find you and finally be delivered from my curse." He whistled and the OMAP swept down towards him like a massive bird of prey as its rider sprung onto the back. "If it is you Spiderman then I will claim what's mine but how can I be sure scents can be confusing." he suddenly smiled, "Are you there." he asked as he talked into his comm. unit, "Yes I need you to look at something for me."

Spiderman swung through the labyrinth of skyscrapers, his wound burning with each movement of his arm. He was becoming tired and had noticed that part of the arrow's shaft was still embedded in his arm glowing white under a coating of clotting blood. _"Something seems to be sapping my strength and it's not exhaustion. I used to regularly go ten rounds with the Green Goblin and yet now I'm ready to drop after a skirmish with a nobody like pH3 and a five minute chase with the Avengers."_ Looking down Spiderman spotted one of the Avengers, a man clad in armoured plating with cables poking from the legs and arms into a power pack on his back, keeping pace with him. Swinging round the corner Spiderman saw the open wilderness of Central Park looming in-front of him. "Wrong turn." He stated as his pursuer leapt at him slamming into his web line before dragging him down towards the centre of the park, sharp edged tree branches scratching at him as he fell, the ground exploding into a shower of dirt and fallen leaves as the pair landed. Spiderman rolled over twice before coming to a stop as the man dragging him skidded an extra fifty meters, deep grooves carved in the earth as he came to a complete stop. "Talk about being treed." He complained, "That's why I avoid the park somebody always find's it funny to pull me through the trees resulting in my costume being ripped. Seriously people I make them myself and its hard work I always poke myself with the needle and thread."

"I know about hard work filth." Hurricane said turning round, "I made this armour myself, used it to help people and what thanks do I get? You and your Thunderbolt buddies; the Radioactive Man, Bullseye and the freak dressed up like an Iron Maiden slam me in jail simply because I wanted to keep my name private."*

"And now you work for Stark the man who set the Thunderbolts on you." Spiderman stated. "Ironic."

"Stark returned my armour promised me that I would have my revenge on the Thunderbolts and I guess that starts today with you." Hurricane announced, "Now prepare to feel the power of the Hurricane."

"Seriously where do you people keep coming from?" Spiderman asked as Hurricane stormed towards him, striking the wall crawler before he could swing up into the trees, a hail of punches and throws delivered in seconds each striking the Spider with full force before he was thrown into a tree and slumped to the floor.

"Any last joke's wall crawler?" Hurricane asked as he charged his suit, the cables glowing red.

"Yeah what happens if I remove this?" Spiderman asked shooting a line at Hurricane, the Avenger realizing what his target was trying to do and shifting out the way, the web line striking his back rather then the power regulator that he had been aiming at. _"Not what I was hoping for but I can make this work."_ Peter thought, _"This guy is fast but I bet I can use that against him."_ With a burst of speed Hurricane took off, dragging Spiderman at the end of the line through the trees before heading towards a mercifully children's playground. As he reached the forest edge Spiderman braced himself against a pair of trees as Hurricane strained like a fish desperately trying to escape the end of a rod held by a determined fisherman.

"Let go." Hurricane pleaded as his armour's cables went from red to purple.

"Okay." Spiderman answered letting go of the web line sending Hurricane careering towards a carousel, the Avenger slicing through the first line of gaily painted animals before slamming into a massive tea-cup, it's goofy face mocking him as it collapsed over him as his armour stalled, the cables going from purple to black, the energy system overheated steam billowing from under the lip of the trap. "Talk about a storm in a tea-cup." Spiderman joked scanning the horizon, "I wonder if your simply the joke Avenger or if the others are as bad as you."

"Why don't you find out." A voice echoed from around the woods as a woman emerged from the darkness, the massive form of She-Hulk standing behind her.

"I remember you now, your She-Pulce." Spiderman told her.

"It's Sepulchre." Sepulchre corrected, "And I don't remember ever telling you my name Venom."

"Let me guess Tony promised vengeance against me and my Thunderbolt allies. Who have you got the grudge with? Radioactive Man, Penance, Bullseye or Songbird, can't be Moonstone or the Swordsman as they are both dead." Spiderman asked.

"I have a problem with all Thunderbolts. That idiot with the pink hair let you rip a man's arm off and eat it before claiming she had everything under control." Sepulchre informed him, "From then on I recorded every-time you were on the news, how you tried to blackmail the mayor, how you ate some super criminals, how you went amok at Asgard. I studied the darkness in you and leant how to counter it."**

"Less talking Woods and more smashing." She Hulk announced slamming her fist down where Spiderman had been as he swung onto the top of the carousel. With a roar the female hulk leapt and slammed her hands down and crushed the remains of the merry-go round, the remains of the horses and other animals flying across the playground as Hurricane pushed the cup off him and staggered out of the debris field. With a few quick squirts of webbing Spiderman immobilized She Hulk before turning to Sepulchre as a wave of darkness erupted from behind her before it surrounded Spiderman plunging him into darkness. Behind him something snapped and he turned only to feel a massive fist slam into him and send him flying as something metal intercepted his flight. "I can't see." he called, "Is anyone else blind" he asked.

"Over here." She Hulk's voice sounded as Spiderman felt a metal chain wrap around his arms before being slammed into the ground and whipped around smashing into a series of hard objects.

"This is too easy." Hurricane's voice came from the darkness as something slashed across Spiderman's chest. "Once my armor is recharged freak I'll take you for a ride, where is the nearest incinerator by the way?" he asked.

"Why wait?" She Hulk asked grabbing the end of the chain, "Stark is in Times Square ready with the press, he and Orion want everyone to see what happens when you try and subjugate the American People." she told him as she swung the chain around above her head before releasing it, "Adios Venom." she announced as Spiderman flew off towards Times Square. Struggling Spiderman kicked off the chain and went to spray a line to save himself as he plunged downwards only to get a pathetic squirt of web fluid before falling the remaining distance and landing on a large bank of neon signs, the bright lights hurting his eyes. "And to think I voted against that light pollution bill." he moaned as he got to his feet and opened up one of his web shooters, "She Hulk must have crushed the mechanism, that means the additional cartridges are useless until I can get them repaired." he added crawling down the sign and into Times Square, the commuters looking at him in horror and screaming as they fled the area. Up above the sound of rotor blades could be heard and Spiderman looked up to see a Thunder Hawk dropping into the plaza before SHIELD troops fast lined down, batons and stun guns raised ready for action.

"Venom you are under arrest, but your hands above your head and get down on your knees." the SHIELD commander yelled through a mega phone as he watched the massive black creature walk forward, it's tongue hanging out over it's rows of white serrated teeth. "You do not have to say anything but it might hurt you…" the agent gulped as 'Venom' took the megaphone from him. "Open fire." he yelled as several of the agents fired their stun guns, the blasts whizzing through the air as their agile target avoided the shots before gracefully knocking their weapons away. An agent with a baton rushed at 'Venom' and slammed his stick down before being thrown off, his arm twisting and snapping before two more agents arrived, both quickly repelled by the Symbiote before heading back towards the Thunder Hawk.

Spiderman knocked out the last agent until only the commander was left, the man was trying to edge towards the Thunder Hawk without being seen, "We're being eaten alive down here." he called into his radio, "No not literally." he added, "We need back up." he announced as he dropped the radio and reached for his sidearm only to see 'Venom' catch the dropped item before handing it back to him and shaking a finger, "You know littering is a crime." he told the agent as he removed the pistol's magazine, the box of ammo dropping to the floor followed by the unconscious agent. "Guess some people can't take a joke." Spiderman stated although in reality his body ached, _"Can't last much longer I feel like I'm ready to drop and She Hulk mentioned Tony and the other guy having set something up here and I don't think it was calling in SHIELD he seems to hate Melissa for whatever reason." _Suddenly he saw the SHIELD field medic, sprawled face down on the floor his hand clutching a medical case in the hopes of using the polycarbonate box to knock out his attacker. "Sorry about this but I have an arrow in my arm." he told the medic as he opened the box and removed a scalpel and some gauze before fishing out the piece of arrow, "Here a souvenir from your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman. That's the real one not Venom by the way." he added closing the case. As soon as he removed the piece of arrow his body seemed fresher, he was still exhausted but less so then he had been. "Okay Stark where is this lesson about subjugation you were going to teach me because you're one to talk." he yelled, "Teach me I have an open mind." he yelled as Orion pulled back his bow string and fired an arrow down at the target, Spider Sense flaring Spiderman sprung behind an abandoned taxi, the arrow striking the cab and causing it to disintegrate into silver sand. "Lesson learnt." Spiderman gulped as he looked up searching for the shooter as Orion pulled a second arrow from his quiver.

"So judging from his moves alone who is he?" Kraven asked the man standing on the roof top beside him as Spiderman leapt from cover to cover as Orion released volleys of arrows, all burning with star light and all disintegrating the abandoned cars and shop fronts of Times Square.

"Just his moves?" the figure said turning to face Kraven, his white skull like mask glowering at the hunter. "You have made your mind up already but yes from his fighting style that Venom is actually Spiderman, the combat style is wrong for Mac Gangran, his fighting style was limited to pure aggression and power not tactics and agility."

"I figured as much." Kraven muttered, "Take this." he told Taskmaster handing him the rifle MACH V had given him, "I will defeat Spiderman honourably."

"Well you may want to hurry." Taskmaster told him as Iron Man flew into the square and begun to light up the whole area with Repulsor fire before boxing Spiderman into a tiny area in the middle of the plaza as Orion got ready to fire an arrow, the tip glowing red. Kraven leapt onto the OMAP parked on the corner of the building and dive bombed the scene as the Taskmaster shrugged his shoulders, "Melissa its Tony we have a Blood Hunt Situation, what are your orders?"

"Stay in Overwatch, let's see if Kraven is as powerful as he was now he's no longer immortal." Melissa ordered, "If things get out of hand then take the shot neural clamps only."

"Got it boss." Taskmaster announced lying down on the roof top and flicking the rifle's bipod, "Easy shots, easy money."

"Any last words Venom?" Ironman asked Spiderman as he was pinned down by the Repulsor cage.

"Duck." Spiderman said as Kraven gunned the OMAP towards Tony.

"I never really did get your jokes." Tony told Spiderman as he turned around to see Kraven heading towards him. Orion shifted his focus and fired the arrow sticking the platform and detonating the fuel cell giving Kraven the extra momentum he needed, the veteran hunter sinking his claws into Tony's armor and forcing him down the ground as Spiderman sprung away from the pair as they wrestled each trying to best the other. Orion strung another arrow, the standard star-light variety and got ready to fire aiming the arrow at Spiderman's chest as the wall crawler decided which if any side he should be helping.

"Oh no you don't" Taskmaster growled swinging the rifle round and aiming at Orion before pulling the trigger and firing a sonic pulse from the gun right at the hunter's quiver, the celestial arrows reacting with the blast throwing Orion off the edge and down into the square. "Okay Stark let's end your involvement in this." he mumbled as he narrowed the beam and aimed at Spiderman before firing directly at the wall crawler's neck. Spiderman looked up and saw Taskmaster seconds after his spider sense sounded and leapt out of the way of the blast, the hard sound round shattering the fire hydrant behind him and spraying the square in water, moment's later the holographic shroud emitter on Spiderman's neck sparked and fell off dropping the disguise of 'Venom' and revealing the true hero underneath.

"Spiderman?" Tony said in mock surprise as he kicked Kraven off him, "But I though you were Venom."

"We all know what you thought." Spiderman announced, "I gave you my answer, I'm not going to join your Avengers or SHIELD's and that's my final answer. Live with it, I plan too."

"Sepulchre get us out of here." Tony yelled as a raven shaped patch of darkness swept down and grabbed him and Orion before heading East over the city. Spiderman breathed an audible sigh of relief before being slashed round the face by Kraven, the blow tossing him into the air before he slammed into the sidewalk. "You and I have unfinished business." Kraven snarled as he brought out a massive bush knife and slashed towards Spiderman, the web slinger rolling out the way of the blow before delivering a kick to Kraven's shins. Kraven roared in anger before curb stomping Spiderman, his boot cracking the hero's ribs before being tossed off and into the remains of a city bus, the vehicle only half destroyed by one of Orion's arrows.

"Get up." Kraven roared, "You owe me."

"Now Ma'am." Taskmaster asked as he watched Kraven pick Spiderman up and slam him into the bus before ramming the hero's head into the vehicle and dropping to the floor.

"Not yet, medical evacuation and Retrieval 2 is on the way." Melissa told him, "I think we'll find out what the outcome is soon." she added as Spiderman slugged Kraven in the nose before being thrown into an one of the neon sign boards, electricity coursing through the wall crawler's body. "You brought me back." Kraven snarled, "You had no rite to bring me back other then to ease your own guilt. Stand up and fight you perverse creature and run, give me a good hunt and I may go easy on you."

"I can't." Spiderman replied, "My web shooters are broken." he coughed, blood running across his ripped costume from a multitude of wounds. Kraven narrowed his eyes before turning away. "I'm sorry if I had known I would have left you alone." he told Spiderman not looking at him as a second Thunder Hawk descended, this one decorated with a red cross quartered with the SHIELD eagle.

"Shut him down." Melissa told Taskmaster, "He proved his point."*** Taskmaster nodded and fired one of the neural shutdown rounds, the disc slamming into Kraven's spin. Angrily he spun round to glare up at Taskmaster before collapsing to his knees before face planting into the ground as numerous civilians begun to rush in, confused on what happen as the SHIELD medical team supported Spiderman as he stepped into the Thunder Hawk before the doors closed and the chopper took off.

"Okay sir just stay still." a medic announced as she blew a strand of white hair out of her eyes, "You've taken quite a beating but you should make a quick recovery."

"Don't play games with me, I know what SHIELD did, they sent the Taskmaster and Kraven after me." Spiderman announced, "Tony mentioned that Master's works for SHIELD now and I saw him talking to Kraven before he attacked, not to mention that SHIELD confiscated all those kooky glider things that Osborne created."

"Sir you're hallucinating." the medic told him as he threw her hands off him.

"No I'm not Tony was right." Spiderman announced, "Whatever Melissa was she's no hero anymore. I think this is my stop." he added getting up, his joint's aching, "I'll walk the rest of the way." he said as two of the agents glanced around before opening the troop doors as they hovered over one of the buildings. Dropping out the medic walked to the edge of the door and watched Spiderman run off into the city. Removing her helmet her hair billowed in the wind, white with a pink strip as the agents closed the door. "I can live with that," Melissa said as the Thunder Hawk veered back towards Avenger's Tower as the defeated SHIELD Agents and Kraven were loaded onto the parked helicopter. "Besides I got what I wanted."

Next Issue - Spiderman - #04

The Hood is on the move and she is heading for a collision course with her former husband Spiderman. And with the reappearance of Parker Robbins and Reflex, with both searching for her the streets are quite literally going to run with blood.

* * *

* As seen in Civil War: The Initiative #1

** As seen in Thunderbolts #113

*** That point will be revealed in the upcoming fanon Restoration: Blood Hunt - By the Sword


	4. From the Darkness

**Ravencroft Penitentary, New York - 19:35PM, 11th September**

The man walked up the steps to the Ravencroft Penitentiary; he was dressed in a grey hooded sweatshirt and black jeans and worn sneakers as well a big rucksack on his shoulders, the very picture of the usual patient that entered the doors of the Asylum. At least a normal patient before the fall of Norman Osborne and HAMMER, now the Penitentiary held worse things as evidenced by the guards dressed in riot armor and armed with shields and shotguns outside. The hooded man walked up to the front door before being stopped by the guards with, their commanding officer putting out a hand out, a plain gesture to stop.

"State your name and business son." the officer told the man

"Robin Parker, I came to see Dr. Tanis, I think…I think I may have had another episode." he told the officer, "I think I may have chucked my mother in law into the trash can again."

"Is that a crime sergeant?" the officer asked one of his subordinates.

"Just about." the sergeant replied, "I'll call the doc, see if she remembers you. Personally though I can't blame him."

"You know the place is packed to the gunwales with freaks right?" the officer told Robin, "And not your kind of freaky but glowing eyes and cannibal tendencies freaky. That idiot Gold couldn't bring herself to lock them up in the Raft so she placed them here; personally I reckon she's responsible for the whole thing."

"She is." Robin replied, "She and Carrion are the same person, I reckon she's still a demon."

"Everybody who works or worked for SHIELD is bad." a private said joining in, "Osborne was nuts, Stark was lazy and greedy, Fury hurt his 'friends' as much as his enemies, Gold is too soft and don't get me started about that guy with the hood that Osborne was working with."

"Yeah he was the worst." Robin replied as the door opened and Dr. Tanis appeared in the doorway.

"Robin I heard what you did come inside and I'll give you some medication and call you a cab, did you walk all the way from Boston?" Tanis asked as she saluted the officer in charge.

"Yes." Robin said sadly as the door closed, "I must say you do look good in that body."

"Naughty Nurse huh." Tanis stated as they walked past a pair of guards, their heads supporting bullet wounds, "Would you like me more if I kept this face?" she asked. Robin smiled and removed the latex mask to reveal a face of bronze underneath the fake skin.

"Oh no Whitney our scars define us. But onto business, did you kill everyone in the facility?" he asked.

"As per your instructions Parker." Whitney replied, "The bodies are ready for the transmutation." she added as they reached a high security door at the end of the corridor, a dim amber glow emanating from inside. Inputting the code word Whitney opened the door allowing Parker to enter the room before closing the door behind him. Staring around the chamber Parker saw dark silhouettes lit by glowing amber eyes as he walked over to one of the cells and removed a chart, as the pathetic creatures inside cackled and screamed. Squinting he pulled out a glowing stone that lit up the room, a dull twilight allowing him to read the chart. "Amber Wood Fever." he told the creatures, "A lie of SHIELD, luckily I know what you are." he told the now silent creature, their eyes locked on the stone in his hand. "You are caught between human flesh and true power but I will free you and with this Norn Stone I will lead you."

"The first test subject Parker." Whitney announced as she re-opened the door manhandling the real Dr. Tanis inside, her naked body slammed down onto the floor as Parker poured a thick red liquid around her before placing a bouquet of black roses in between her breasts.

"Now Doctor tell me what you know about the affliction of these poor individuals?" Parker asked.

"They were affected by an exotic disease , SHIELD gave us orders to lock them up until they were cured, the first wave quickly came to their senses and occasionally we get new 'survivors' but most remain feral and vicious." Tanis stammered, "Please what are you going to do to them."

"I'd be more worried about yourself doc." Whitney informed the quivering woman as Parker stuffed Tanis's mouth with pine needles before covering her mouth with indigo gauze, chanting words in Swedish before slamming her chest with the Norn Stone leaving a dark blue bruise on her flesh. "Is that it?" she asked. Parker made a motion for her to be silent as the gauze flickered before wrapping itself around her head before the pine needles ignited in blue flame creating a smoke screen around Tanis. Seconds later the doctor stood up and walked out of the smoke, her skin a dark blue while her eyes were even darker, her ears pointed, her one remaining arm clutching a single black rose. Nervously Parker picked up a rod of aluminium from his bag and placed it on her skin, the metal causing no sign of blistering.

"Do you want to go home?" he asked Tanis. She nodded as Parker handed her a long sword and a set of woman's clothes. "I can let you go home if you use the great power I have given you and deal with your responsibility." Tanis cocked her head, "Kill the Hood and bring me her cowl." he snarled as Whitney unlocked the cages, the infected humans stumbling out snarling, "Now lead your children into the streets and make them run with blood until I get what I came for." The Hood sat back from the crystal ball, one of the few salvageable items from Santana's shop before the fire and her demise, not that had stopped the demon princess, a few hours after usurping her mentor Mary Jane had brought her back and enslaved her, the succubus under her control until she saw fit to release her.

"Do we have enough power to quash this threat?" she asked her reflection in the ball.

"No, we need the power we have stockpiled for the reshaping." her reflection, a burning head of flame, replied, "And to deal with real threats, others would take our place among the chosen."

"I know Robbins is one of them." Mary Jane told Dormmamu, "If we can't beat him, let me go to the person who would protect me with his life. Every man can be bent to another's will and I have always known how to bend him."

* * *

**Museaum of Natural History, New York - 20:12PM, 11th September**

Spiderman sprung up to the ceiling just before a scarlet metallic fist smashed the statue he had been sitting on mere moments before. "Crimson Dynamo." he called, "Don't you know that I'm Spiderman, go play with Stark or SHIELD, you don't know how easy that would make my life." he called down to the man in red power armor. _"Great just as I get rid of one third of my usual rouges, now I have other people's enemies crossing my path."_ he thought as he swung past one of the pillars as his enemy flattened the support with a clumsy arm movement.

"You will call me Jersey Swimming Bear." the armoured warrior snarled in a clear American accent, "Not Crimson Dynamo. You will call me by real name and show me some respect."

"My bad." Spiderman announced as he shot a restraining web down onto Swimming Bear's arm, "With your armor being red and all I thought maybe you were someone a lot cooler then you really are. As for the respect, I have more of that for idiots like Speed Demon and Screwball. I've never heard of you before." he added as he spotted a tiny porthole in the front of the armor and sprayed a web over the viewing slit. Swimming Bear staggered before one of the claws on his armor opened up and fired a cutting beam through the roof, the blast causing rubble to shower his suit and the wall crawler. Spiderman dogged and took cover as Swimming Bear picked up a stone coffin, its lid decorated with stone carved letters.

"The casket of Ba'al, my employer will be pleased." Swimming Bear stated lifting the box onto his shoulder and walking towards the massive hole in the wall he had entered through.

"Oh so your just going to smash and grab and not leave without saying goodbye to yours truly?" Spiderman asked as he landed on top of Swimming Bear's suit of armor. With his free hand Swimming Bear grabbed Spiderman by the leg and threw him, the web swinger landing deftly on the floor in front of him. "So do you have any weapons on that thing?" Spiderman asked, "Or is your armor as lame as you." Swimming Bear replied with a growl and pressed the button for his suit's deep sea illumination, the blast ripping through the darkness and stunning Spiderman as he ran past out into the street.

Spiderman shook his head and watched as Swimming Bear thundered through late night traffic before reaching the edge of the water. "So Swimming Bear can you actually swim?" Spiderman asked as Swimming Bear removed the guard rail with his free hand and threw it at him before slipping under the surface of the water. "Okay I guess you can and now I have to figure where you come up." he announced, _"A great end to a great day, I really don't want to follow a glorified grave robber into the Hudson."_ he thought, _"I'd do anything for something else to come up."_ he announced. Suddenly, as if by magic, the emergency bracelet on his arm begun to flash, _"Well anything but that." his mind said, "Aunt May is in trouble."_ Casting one last look over the surface of the river Spiderman shrugged, "Yo Jersey can we finish this later, amazingly something more important then you has come up." he yelled as he swung away. "Now for Aunt May, whoever is threatening her is going to wish they hadn't."

It was an agonizing ten minutes before Peter arrived in the suburbs, the rows of houses cloaked in darkness, not a single light shining a clear indicator that the power to the whole block was out, and that something bad was happening. Normally Peter went for stealth but there was no time, instead of heading through the open window he slammed into the door with a two footed strike, the MDF slab cracking as he swung through before rolling into a combat ready stance. "Aunt May." he yelled. "Aunt May are you here."

"Over here Peter." a voice that was defiantly not Aunt May's announced. Peter looked around to see his Aunt bound to a chair at the coffee table with a pair of tubes in her arms siphoning a thick black liquid into her blood stream. Standing behind her, face covered by her hood was Mary Jane, only a blood red smile visible as she held a pistol to May's head. "Hello Tiger," she purred, "We have much to talk about."

"We have nothing to talk about." Peter spat ripping off his mask, "Aunt May are you okay."

"Oh she can't talk at the moment." Mary Jane announced, "This is Chimera blood." she told Peter, "It's poisonous can make the mightiest hero fall to a single blow, I had to dilute it of course, luckily her metabolism should burn it off in a few hours."

"Why do this MJ, why tell me anything, it's obvious your trying to kill Aunt May, trying to kill me." Peter snapped although his brain said, _"If she wanted Aunt May dead she could just slap her and she would fall if the Chimera Blood is that potent."_

"Chimera Blood has another property, when mixed with sulphur it becomes a mystical conduit between two people; a master and a servants. If the master is killed then the servant dies to accompany them into the afterlife. Guess which one dear old May is and which one I am?" Mary Jane asked.

"What do you want?" Peter growled.

"You of course." Mary Jane answered, "I plan to shape a world for us and everyone we love, a place with none of this." she gestured around the room, "But somebody has come for the power I possess."

"Shame you don't use your power responsibly." Peter told her, _"I never thought I'd have to say that to MJ."_ he thought as Mary Jane watched him like a hawk, "Maybe if you used that Hood to help people instead of creating fantasy worlds this person wouldn't be after you."

"Oh Mr. Robbins would still be hunting me." Mary Jane purred, "Like me he is very fond of this hood." she added as she moved the pistol slightly across Aunt May's neck, "He wants to ruin the world I plan to build, a world for us."

"Get your goons to do some work." Peter told her, _"I can't believe she has the gall to pretend that she's still the girl next door."_ he thought, "You have enough of them to do the job right? From what I heard you were the premier crime lord in the city."

"That's such an ugly word Peter." Mary Jane announced, her voice beginning to show signs of irritation, "I prefer to be called a visionary."

"And what do you envision me doing?" Peter asked.

"Your going to save me just as you always do." Mary Jane replied stepping out from behind Aunt May, "Now play the hero and protect your family, if not for me but for dear old May."

Twenty minutes later Peter and his new charge arrived at a penthouse building in the middle of the city. Peter had swung past many times and knew that it was the sanctuary of the super rich with cash to blow on stupidly complex security measures. Landing on the roof Mary Jane placed her hand on the key pad and watched as a laser scanned her palm before retracting as the screen popped up demanding a password and physical key to be inserted within three seconds of each other. Mary Jane complied and the screen retracted before the door down opened allowing the pair inside before sealing them in an airlock before receiving a decontamination shower, the doors only opening after two scans from head to toe.

"Believe it or not it's worse coming through the lobby." Mary Jane joked before laughing, the same laugh that had captivated Peter so many years ago, _"How much has she changed?"_ he thought as the pair of them slipped inside one of the room's, the walls bare and the bed untouched, it was obvious that this wasn't Mary Jane's resting place. Tapping the wall Mary Jane flipped a switch embedded in the plaster and a section of floor slid back to reveal an entire arsenal ranging from swords and daggers to handguns and what looked like a heavy duty AIM plasma caster, the coating of the big weapon glowing yellow and black. "So which of these will kill Robbins?" Mary Jane asked herself as she wrapped her hands around an athame, the copper blade sparking with lightning. "Dark Elves are weakened by metal exposure." she mumbled as she picked up a set of bullets in a box marked .44 calibre Silver Cross.

"So Dark Elves huh." Spiderman asked, "Are we talking Lord of the Rings Elves or tiny magical pixies."

"More like goblins actually." Mary Jane answered as she balanced the blade of a massive Kophesh across her arm, "You like Goblins right Pete?"

"No and you know about my history with them." he replied as Mary Jane put the Kophesh in a sheath and slung it over her back. "That blade belonged to Kephi before she disappeared, just left it embedded in a hill in West Virginia with a note in hieroglyphics claiming her or she had committed ritual suicide. I don't believe that but the weapon is divine, it would be very deadly to anything it touches. What about you Pete what do you like?" she asked.

"I don't do weapons, innocent people can get hurt." Peter announced, "Something else you knew and believed in before you became the bad guy."

"I'm not the bad guy Peter." Mary Jane explained, "If I don't rule the streets then Mister Negative, the Hand, the Wizard and the Cowl as well as all the rouge villains will start fighting you, the NYPD and SHIELD. And then the number of civilians caught in the crossfire increases to the point that even you would find their lives meaningless because it happens so often that you've become hardened to death and the ones she takes away."

"That's your opinion?" Peter asked, "I jus call it an excuse to…" he never finished the sentence as the glass along the edge of the room shattered one pane after another and at least five dark elves dropped onto the ledge each clutching a weapon, their eyes glowing with crystal energy. Their leader a tall one armed female snarled something in a feral tongue and pointed at Mary Jane, her subordinates running at her howling and screeching. Coolly and calmly the Hood fired four shots from a silver .44 Magnum, the bullets embedding in the elves craniums, the projectiles failing to kill or even stall the attackers. "What the hell?" Mary Jane yelled catching one of the dark elves as he swung a cudgel made of obsidian at her head before attempting to incinerate him, the blast of fire rippling down the creature before dripping onto the floor and running across the wood flooring in rivers of burning fluid. Spiderman leapt to the ceiling before binding a Dark Elf and swinging it into the wall. "Looks like your magic isn't working either." he analyzed as one of the dark elves swung a bolas at him, the filthy twine weighed down with human skulls.

Mary Jane snarled as she threw the elf in her arm into the bed as the forth elf leapt at her with a pike swinging the weapon and releasing a hail of discs that stuck to her skin and clothing before attempting to drill into her skin. Peter looked down and leapt towards Mary Jane only to be intercepted by a second bolas thrown at him, the grim projectile wrapping round his legs and sending him sprawling as his wife ignited herself, the demonic blaze igniting the discs on her skin before delivering an empowered kick on the elf with the spear sending it screaming out of the window past Spiderman who was desperately shooting webs at a the dark elf armed with a cudgel, the brutish creature hell bent on smashing his skull in. Mary Jane saw this and threw a knife at the Cudgel Elf, the blade stabbing into the elf's chest before turning to the fifth elf, a tattooed female armed with a pair of hand axes elegantly rolling out of the creatures path before scything it in two with the Kophesh, the elf disintegrating into a pile of golden ash.

Struggling Spiderman slipped out of the grim bolas before kicking it back at the elf, the twine wrapping around his neck and sending it staggering to the ground. "Easier then I thought." Peter announced, "Now what did I forget?" he asked as the Dark Elf swung the cudgel at his head as it's target swung around and smacked it in the face before disarming it and webbing the goblinesque creature to the wall. "Now if only the Green Goblin was that easy to beat." he commented. The one armed elf leader screamed before advancing on the pair of them, its hand clutching a Longsword, its blame occasionally trickling with fire. "Uh you want to deal with one armed Jo here or shall I." Peter asked as the blade ignited sparks as it was sung at them, the very air igniting into a deadly fireball. Teeth clenched Mary Jane swung the Kophesh the blade meeting with the elf's blade in a shower of fire and light before her enemy parried and broke through her defence. Peter shot a line pulling the elf's arm back only for the web to ignite, fire quickly shooting towards him and causing him to drop the line. His actions had brought Mary Jane enough time as she ducked under the strike and kicked the door open, bolting into the hallway with Peter and the one armed Elf in hot pursuit only to come face to face with a man dressed completely in white and armed with a doubled bladed sword.

"Okay does anybody normal live in this building." Peter asked while thinking, _"What have I got myself into, it feels like an episode of Buffy or Supernatural. I deal with Super Villains not magical elves or demonic entities, well except on anything can and usually does happen Thursday but today is Friday. All I had planed was a night in with Aunt May not a showdown with the forces of evil."_ He looked back to see the female elf had been joined with the bolas swinging member of the pack its eyes furiously burning. The elf leader snarled something and retreated back into the burning apartment, their eyes lost in the glow of the flames crawling across the floor. "Uh Mary Jane who is that?" he asked nervously as the man stood spinning the blade.

"He's an enemy that's all you need to know." Mary Jane snapped pulling the hood over her head and firing a multitude of shots as the man swung the blade, each strike swatting a bullet from its flight until the gunfire had been neutralized. With a quick movement of his wrist a shrunken flew out of his sleeve and slashed through the barrel of Mary Jane's pistol, the powerful hand gun now completely useless. "Reflex, long has Dormmamu warned me of you. I will not tolerate your interference in the creation of my new world."

"And I will not tolerate the New Earth under the iron foot of a demon." Reflex replied coolly, "And now it seems we are at odds and I know what both of us are willing to do." he added holding out his hand. Mary Jane snarled and leapt at him, easily covering the entire hallway in three steps before slashing at his exposed arm with the Kophesh, her vicious blow easily blocked by Reflex's blade before he spun the weapon around and slashed her on the arm. Cursing under her breath Mary Jane slashed again hoping to get behind the demon hunter's guard only for the blade to scratch across the ceramic armor he wore and receiving a swift punch to the face in the process, the blow stunning her as Reflex tripped her with his staff sending her falling onto her back. "And now it finishes." Reflex told Mary Jane splitting his staff into two blades and stabbing them through Mary Jane's arms before flicking his wrist, a foot long blade springing forward before thrusting it downwards towards the Hood's neck. Spiderman quickly flicked his wrist as well, a spider silk line restraining the demon hunter's blow.

"Sorry can't let you do that." Spiderman told Reflex as the later twisted the blade, the tip slashing through the restraints. "If she dies my aunt goes with her." Spiderman added as Reflex flicked his other wrist producing a pair of blades. _"Plus you love her even though she's become a monster."_ his mind added before his Spider Sense fired as Reflex slashed at him with his left blade causing Peter to roll right directly into the scissor blow's second strike, the blade only stopped from cutting the wall crawler's arm off by a quick silk coating sprayed over the tip. Quickly using the advantage he had been handed Spiderman flipped Reflex over his head onto his back only for the nimble demon hunter to turn the momentum into a slash, the sword blade aimed at his targets knees. Spiderman easily dodged before receiving a swift uppercut to the jaw the blow sending him sprawling to the floor next to Mary Jane.

"I implore you, the lives I will save by killing this creature will mean the new world will be a better place." Reflex told Spiderman as he stood on Peter's neck before stabbing the silken blade through his left wrist, the tip of the sword expertly missing the arteries and bones, before Reflex disengaged leaving the blade standing by itself as he stalked over to Mary Jane and stood over her neck.

"What's with all this new world talk you both keep spouting about?" Peter asked as he shot a line out to Reflex's sword coating it with a web. Reflex simply disengaged the second blade, the razor projectile scything through Spiderman's remaining web shooter. Tilting his head Reflex looked form Peter to Mary Jane before settling on the Fire Axe on the wall. "I apologize for such a clumsy execution I prefer a more gracile weapon." he announced shattering the glass and removing the heavy bladed axe.

"Apologies are for the weak." Mary Jane hissed as her demonic power rose and melted the blades before stabbing Reflex in the chest with the athame, lightning sparking along the blade causing the demon hunter to smoke before exploding in a blue light, particles of ozone dancing through the hall as she removed the blades from Spiderman's arms.

"You killed him?" Peter said in a surprised tone.

"Oh he's alive, that explosion was a magical spell of transference, he'll pop up somewhere or someplace, hopefully a long way away although with his expertise in magic we may be unlucky and see him sooner then I desire." Mary Jane explained, "It's clear this place isn't safe from Parker or Independents like Sukanto. Come on let's move." she suggested, the last few words more like an order then a request.

"And where do we go." Peter asked as Mary Jane picked up the dropped fire axe and smashed the window open.

"A fortress." she replied leaping from the window, floating in mid air like a red falcon above the gleaming night lights of the city.

"And where do we find a fortress?" Mary Jane pointed to a looming tower in the heart of the city. "SHIELD's Ivory Tower, plenty of skilled man power, computerized sentries and best of all something I need."

* * *

Next Issue - Spiderman - #05

Spiderman forced to break into Avengers Tower whilst under the Hood's control? With Parker Robbins's Dark Elf army on the rampage and the city burning Spiderman is needed more then ever. And with Reflex hell bent on slaying Mary Jane what will Peter have to do to save both the city and the woman he loves


End file.
